One of the first sites I ever listed on my links page way back when was HauntProject.com. I have always thought it was one of the best, straight-forward resources online for home haunters of all skill levels. It's also the only site I ever made a point to contribute links to as often as I could despite busy schedules and absences from online forums. And each time, the Perfessor and I would exchange a couple of emails back and forth, often wishing each other happy haunting.

This morning on Dave Lowe's website I was striken...literally stopped in my tracks...to learn that PerfessorEvil (Rik Cary) had passed away this weekend. My mind couldn't absorb the information. It's unthinkable. HauntProject has been such a constant in my life, and in the lives of countless other haunters.

He leaves behind a legacy of links and resources that have reached thousands upon thousands of people. He was a champion of Halloween. He will be greatly missed.

I hope there are plans to keep the site running. It would be a shame to see all of his work and generously donated time be lost.

Check out the 2010 video of his haunt (above) and then see the magnificent additions he had last year in 2011 (below).

They stare when he eats his fish heads, even when he's careful not to make slurping noises when he eats the eyeballs.

They whisper about him when he's pulling snails from their shells, even when he made sure the slimy creatures are unconscious.

They move away from him despite his efforts to keep his shawls and cloak clean from the guts and gore that sometimes stick to the fabric.

He doesn't mind so much. It relieves him of the pressure to make small talk. The few times people engage him in conversation, he is taken by surprise and looks at them, wide-eyed, with a twitchy smile and a shrug, and a breathy chuckle.

I'm not sure how well Monty falls under the category of Little Minions considering he's 12" tall.

And with his boisterous personality, there really is nothing small about him.

Montague, Master of the Lesser Demons, charmer of Sirens, and hero of hellions.

No one can conjure a fireball faster, a curse coarser, or a nightmare...nightmarier.

Despite being a creature of evil and all things unpleasant, Monty is oddly likeable.

Sure, he's bound to torture you without pity but yet you find yourself unable to deny part of you hope it ends in friendship.

Even as you pray the searing pain he's inflicting - so unimaginable it could only exist in a godless world - will end, you're also wondering if he'd come to the barbeque you're planning for next weekend.

And really, isn't that the Devil's true trick? He does terrible things and will ruin your life, but man he's fun to be around.

Whizzle ain't so bright. But like his Ma always told him, it ain't smarts but hearts that get you through life.

"My sweet Whizzy" she'd say, "don't you know peoples want to have a pint wit them who's makin'em happy, and not them who's showin' off all the time? Don't you worry, my luv. You show'em your winnin' smile and you'll see what I's talkin' about."

When people first meet Whizzle, and learn his neighbourhood nickname is W(h)iz Kid, they're confused, or think it's a way to make fun him. "Nah" say the locals, "Whiz kid's a wiz at figuring out how to make anybody, anywhere, feel better. He's a sorta...empathic genius".